Means and method for scoring ice



Oct. 3, 1933. R. H. ROARK 13,964

MEANS AND METHOD FOR SCQRING ICE BLOCKS Original Filed Nov. 25,, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 3, 1933. R. H'. ROARK 964 MEANS AND METHOD FOR SCURING ICE BLOCKS Original Filed Nov. 25, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 gnaw/whom ROBERT/1. ROHRK Oct. 3, 1933. R. H; RoARK IEANS AND METHOD FOR SCORING ICE BLOCKS Original Filed Nov. 25, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ROBERT/l. ROHRK Reissued Oct. 3, 1933 UNITED STATES,

MEANS AND METHOD FOR BLOCKS SCORING ICE Robert H. Roark, Waco, Tex., assignor, by mesne assignments, to General Ice Scoring Machine Company, Dallas, ware I Tex, a corporation of Dela Original No. 1,729,186, dated September 24, 1929,

Serial No. 235,513, November 25, 1927. Application for reissue September 23, 1931.

v No. 564,701

Serial 19 Claims. c1. 125-13 This invention relates to improvements in ice cutting machines, more particularly to that class -of machines whereby a block of ice, and particularly a standard block of ice, for example, artificial ice commercially known as can-ice, is cut or scored to a certain depth sothat the block may be divided into smaller pieces to obviate weighing of the ice and to facilitate the handling thereof and aims to provide an improved method of scoring such ice andan improved machine by which the, method may be performed. The primary object of the present invention is to provide such a machine as indicated above, whereby fluid pressure is utilized together with an embodiment of parts to eifect vertical movement of revoluble saws in scoring the ice in a vertical plane, and secondly by an arrangement of similar means to move the ice by fluid pressure between saws to score the ice on a horizontal plane. Qther objects and advantages of my invention are apparent from the following detailed description of however, as being limited to any particular or specificarrangement of parts or to the embodiment herein shown, as fluid pressure may be applied in varied ways.

In Figure 1 is shown a side elevational-view of the machine.

Figure 2 is an end view. I

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figures 4 and 5 are detail views of an ice pusher, illustrating the same in different positions.

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view of a doubleaction cylinder and its valve and coacting parts.

Figure v 7 is a side 'view of a valve disk and rod for operating a valve.'

Figure 8 illustrates a sectional detail view of a bracket and rollers forguiding one of the vertical saws; and

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figurefi, showing a single-action cylinder, valve and parts.

Fig. 10 is a detail view showing the application to the valve controlling the cylinder of Fig. 9 of automatic actuating means similar to that employed with the valve shown in Fig. 6.

The machine comprises a framework consisting of upright channel irons 1 and cross members 2 connected together to provide a rigid support for the mechanism. The frame includes a base 3 and the cross members 2 are extended at 3a beyond the frame to provide a support for a motor 4. The motor is connected by belt 5 to a pulley 6 located on a shaft 7 and by means of gears 8 and 9 drives the spaced vertically positioned shafts 10 carrying a plurality of saws 11. The shafts are seated in bearings'l2 and 13 in the cross-member 2 and base 3. vThese saws 11 are for the purpose of scoring a'block of ice on a horizontal plane, whether a block of ice is placed between these saws on its end or on its edge, as will be referred to hereinafter.

There are also provided saws 14 and. 15 mounted respectively on shafts 16 and 17 of motors 18 and 19 connected to a source of power by wires (not shown). These motors are free to move vertically on one of the channel irons as shown in the drawings which provides a guide way for the rollers 21 secured to the motor by members22.

The motors are connected to opposite ends of a chain or cable 23 passing over pulleys 24.

The pulleys are mounted on shafts 25 seated in bearings 26. The length of this-chain or cable is such that when one saw is above the block of ice, the other saw is' below the block of ice, as clearly shown in the drawings. The motor-operatingthe saw 14 has a counterweight 14 and is also connected to a cable or chain 27 which passes over wheel 28 and then downward into a cylinder 29 illustrated in detail in Figure 9. This cylinder includes a weighted piston 30 anda valve 31 controlled by a disk 32. There is also provided a cylinder 33, including a piston, piston rod 35, valve 36, valve disk 37 and valve controlrod 38 and an arm 39the rod 35 including an ice pusher 40. These parts will be referred to hereinafter in describing the operation of the machine.

When a block of ice is placed in the machine for vertical scoring, fluid pressure is admitted to the bottom of cylinder 29, raising theweighted piston 30, whereupon the weight of the saw 14 and motor .18 including the counterweight 14 is sufiicient to cause this motor and saw to descend and thereby pulling the motor 19 and its saw 15 to the top of the frame and scoring the ice block A vertically. In Figs. 1 and 2 the position of .the motor saw units 14, 18 and 15, 19 is shown just after the commencement of this motion. When the motors have thus changed positions, they may either be retained in the new position until the block of ice is removed and another one is placed in the machine, or they may be automatically moved back to the first position before removing'the iceblock. Thus, the motor-saw units may be retained in changed position after admission of fluid to the cylinder ,29 simply by leaving the valve 31 in the fluid admitting positionshown in solid lines in Fig. 9, orby turning it to an intermediate position in which the fluid in the cylinder 29 is not released, and after removal of the scored block and positioning of a new one, the scoring devices may be returned to their original position simply byturning, the valve 31, Fig. 9, to the fluid releasing position shown in dotted lines, so that the weighted piston 30 may descend, and during thisreturn' to original position the motor-saw units will effect scoring of the second block of ice. Or on the other hand, to automatically move back the motors to their first position before removal of the scored ice block, it is but necessary, for example, as

indicated in Fig. 10, to control the valve disc 32 by a spring 151 and parts 138,. 137', 139-139 150, and 149 (corresponding, respectively, to the spring 51 and parts 38, 37' and 393950 in Fig. 6 and the part 49in Figs. 4 and 5, hereinafter more fully described) so that engagement of the parts 137, 139' will catch the valve disc 32 when moved to turn the valve 3lto fluid admitting position and hold the same thereat until the piston 30 (Fig. 9) has completed its stroke, when tripping of the parts by the triangular shaped mem-' After vertically scoring the ice block it may be removed from the machine by means of the double-action cylinder 33. The operation of this cylinder is such that when the saw 15 is in its lowermost position, slightly lower than asshown 7 -'into the machine as well as to remove itttherefrom. r

in Figure l, the motor 19 depresses the finger 38 pulling the rod 38 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7. Since the rod 38 is connected to the valve disc 37, the disc is moved around until the notch 37' registers with the projection 39' on the arm 39 as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and '7. This causes the valve 36to open, admitting fluid pressure into the valve through pipe 44. The valve is then open as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 6 and the fluid pressure passes into pipe 45 in the direction of the dotted line arrow to the'left in Figure 6, movinglthe piston 34 to the right. Any exhaust air or liquid will then pass from the cylinder through pipe 46 through the valve, thence, out pipe 48.

This movement of the piston rod 35 will pull the ice pusher 40 to the right in the drawings,

moving the block of ice A to the position A and inmoving to' this positionthe block is drawn between the saws. 11 and sco'red'horizontally by the saws, and at the sametime removed from the machine.

The piston 34 isthen at the right end of the cylinder 33 and when the pusher has moved to the position 40" the tri'angular shaped member 49 comes in contactwith the finger 50' on arm 39,

thus throwing the finger 39' out of the notch 37' and as soon as the finger 38' is'allowed to rise by movementof the motor 19 to the position shown in Fig. 1 by admission of fluid pressure to'the. cylinder 29 (Figs. 2 and 9) the valve disc 37,and

the valve 36 are returned totheposition shown by full lines in Figs. 1, 6 and '7, beingfretur'ned by the spring 51. Fluid pressure is then admitted in pipe 44, flowing in pipe 46 in direction of fullline arrow; and the piston rod is returned to former position. i The pusher is hinged and readily passes under a block of ice and when free is returned to normal upright position by the spring 53. The exhaust in left side of the-piston 33 then passes through pipes 45 and 48 in direction of fullline arrowsin Figure 6.

Using only the finger 38 actuated by the motor 19 it will be seen that the pusher 40 will be operated to remove the scored block only after the motor saw units have been moved from the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to changed position and back again, either by manual control of valve 31 as hereinafter described or by automatic control thereof as above described. However, as shown in Fig. 2', I may provide a second finger 38" to be operated by the motor 18 if the motorsaw units are to be retained in changed position during removal of the scored block, so that when the motor 18 reaches its lowermost position it will depress the finger 38 and initiate operation of the pusher 40 to remove the block. For economy thisfmay be effected, as in the form shown, by havingthe finger 38" operate the same bellcrank system as is operated bythe finger 38' to effect pulling of the same rod 38 to operate the same valve control disc, 37.

The valve disc 32 controlling'valve 31 maybe operated manually by anypreferredmeans, the pressure entering through pipe 55 and exhausting through pipe 56 in the direction of the arrows if it is not desired to use automatic control means such as-that shown in Figs. 6 andlO and described above. I

It is evident that the -verticalscoring of the ice -may be made beforethe horizontal scoring-or the horizontal scoring made priorto the vertical scoring Also that the fluid pressure means as used in cylinder 33 maybe used to pull the ice If desired the operation ofthe vertical saws may be omitted and the machine used to make the horizontal scores only, while the block:standingon end-is passed through the horizontal saws by fluid pressure means.

, The scoring of ice is limited almost exclusively to the scoring of standard cakes of artificial ice known'in the trade as can-ice", and considerable difficulty has been experienced heretofore in obtaining accurate subdivisionx thereof because such blocks are tapered to facilitate re- 7 moval from the cans.

- A particular advantage ofmy improved method of scoring such blocks while standing on end, as shown in the drawings, resides'in the fact that by this mode of scoring I amjable, to entirely eliminate the effect of the taper of such blocks upon the resulting subdivisions thereof, and obtain accurate and uniform scoring, both longitudinally and transversely of the block; a desideratum heretofore obtained only by jacking up the tically thereby insuring that the longitudinal groovingproduced by simple vertical scoring will parallel the longitudinal axis of the block and divide it symmetrically, and, where the longitudinal scores are positioned to halve the block longitudinally, medially of its scored faces as shown.

I Inaddition, as above pointed out, this method of scoring insures the accurate positioning of "the transverse scores so that accurate and symmetrical final subdivision of the block is obtained. Furthermore, by embodying this method of scoring ice blocks while standing on end in an ice scoring machine such as that disclosed herein, numerous advantages are obtained, such-as economy of floor space, economy of power, and

economy of labor.

Though I have described with great particula'rity of detail a specific'embodiment of my invention, yet it is not to be understood therefrom that the invention is restricted to the particular embodiment disclosed. Various modifications thereof in detail and in the arrangement of the parts'may be made by those skilled in the art without the departure'from the invention as deflned in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an ice scoring machine, a pair of scoring devices respectively comprising movable saw and motor units spaced apart substantially the width of a block of ice, and means for moving said respective units vertically in opposite directions for simultaneously scoring opposite sides of an ice block.

2. In an ice scoring machine, a pair of scoring devices respectively comprising movable rotating saw and motor units spaced apart substantially the width of a block of ice, and means for moving said respective rotating saw and motor units in opposite directions for simultaneously scoring opposite sides of an ice block.

3. In an ice scoring machine, a pair of scoring devices spaced apart substantially the width of a bloc of ice and fluid pressure means for moving said scoring devices vertically in opposite directions for simultaneously scoring opposite sides of an ice block.

4. In an ice scoring machine, a pair of scoring devices respectively comprising movable saw and motor units spaced apart substantially the width of a block of ice, actuating means for moving said respective units vertically in opposite directions .for simultaneously scoring opposite sides of an ice block, and means for automatically cutting 011 said actuating means when the scoring is completed.

5. In an ice scoring machine, a pair of scoring devices spaced apart substantially the width of a block of ice, fluid pressure means for moving said scoring devices vertically in opposite directions for simultaneously scoring oppositesides of an ice block, and means for automatically cutting off and releasing the fluid pressure as soon as the vertical scoring operation is complete.

of a block of ice, fluid pressure meansfor moving said scoring devices vertically in opposite directions for simultaneously scoring opposite sides of an ice block, means for automatically cutting off and releasing the fluid pressure as soon as the vertical scoringoperation'is complet'a'means for scoring the blocks of ice horizontally after said vertical scoring :operation, automatically operating fluid pressure means for advancing the ice to said horizontal scoring means after the vertical scoring operation, and means for automatically cutting oil and releasing fluid pressure from said ice advancing means after the horizontal scoring is completed. v

8. The method of scoring an ice block while directions on opposite'sides of the block.

- 9. An ice scoring machine comprising a framework, motors carrying sawsvertically slidable on opposite sides of said framework, thesaid saws being spaced apart'substantially the width of a block of ice, fluid pressure means for moving said motors and saws vertically in opposite directions for simultaneously scoring a block of ice, horizontal, stationary saws for scoring the ice after-the vertical scoring operation is completed,-- fluid pressure means for advancing the ice to the stationary saws, and means for automatically cutting off and releasing fluid pressure from. each said fluid pressure means after its respective operation is completed.

10. The method of scoring an ice block while the ice is on end by simultaneously moving ice scoring means vertically and substantially medially on opposite sides of the block.

11. The method of longitudinally scoring a block of ice that eliminates the effect of taper in scoring a tapered ice-block such as a commercial can-ice block which consists in standing the block on end to position its longitudinal axisvertically, and moving ice scoring means vertically and substantially medially on opposite sides of the block, thereby longitudinally dividing it12 substantially symmetrically.

12. The method of longitudinally scoring a block of ice that eliminates the efiect of taper in scoring a tapered ice-block such as a commercial "can-ice" block which consists in standing the block on end to position its longitudinal axis vertically and moving ice scoring meansvertically and substantially medially of an upstanding face of the block to, be scored, thereby longitudinally scoring it substantially symmetrically.

13. The method of longitudinally scoring a block of ice that eliminates the efiect of-taper in scoring a tapered ice-block such as a commercial can-ice block which consists in standing in standing the block on end to position its longi- ,tudinal axis vertically, and symmetrically longitudinally dividing the block by vertically scoring the same.

14. The method ofscoring a block of ice that eliminates the effect of taper in scoring a tapered ice-block such as a commercial can-ice block which consists in standing the block on end to position its longitudinal axis vertically, symmetrically longitudinally dividing the'block by vertically scoring the same, and symmetrically transversely dividingtheblock by horizontally scoring the same.

15. A machine for symmetrically scoring delivery-size block-ice, and particularly standard with means to receive and support the block; on end with a i its longitudinal :axis vertical I *size tapered canice, to facilitate itsaccurate size tapered can-ice", to facilitateits accurate subdivision in retailing comprising a framezpro- -vided. with vmeans .to'receive and support the -bloekon end-.with its longitudinal axis vertically upstanding, vertically operable scoring saws assoand meanscfor kerfing .said *blockvertically to symmetrically longitudinally score the same. v 16. A machine for symmetricallycscoring. de-

livery-side blockeice, and particularly standard size taperedwcan.-ice:,l.to; facilitate its I accurate subdivision in retailing comprising a frame provided with means to receive and support the block oniend with its longitudinal axis vertical,

Nertically operable scoring means associated with rsaid frame, and means for producing relative vertical motion between said block and said scoring means.

a 17'. Alzmachine ,forsymmet'rically scoring delivery size blockice,.and particularly standard subdivision-in retailing comprising a frame pro --vided withf'means to receive and-support the .block onendawith its longitudinal axis vertical, and means=tovertically and horizontally score said block, thereby to. accurately score the same parallel to and transversely ofits said longitudin'alaxiar'fl- H 184A machine for. symmetrically scoring ':delivery size block-ice, and particularly standard in I Q.

fin

ciatedwith; said frame and means formoving the \same'tolongitudinally score saidblock, horizontally operable scoring sawsadjacent said frame;

candmeans for moving said upstanding block into engagement with said horizontally. operable saws to transversely score'the same. i

' 19. In an ice scoring machine, a pair of vertical scoring devices spaced apart substantially the 'width of a block of ice, means for moving said scoring devices vertically for simultaneously scoring opposite sides of an ice block positioned t0 stand therebetween; horizontal scoring means adjacent said vertical vscoring devices for scoring ice blocks horizontally during advance thereof adjacent said standingpositio'n thereof, reciprocable fluid pressure means to effeetsuch advance of the; ice blocks adjacent said standing position thereof and thus efiect such'horizontal scoring thereof, and means to control the supply and release of fluid pressure from said fluid pressure .means automatically. operated at the completion of a scoring movement of said vertical scor'mg devices to effect advance ofsaid reciprocable fluid pressure means and automatically operable-after completion of such advance and commencement of the next subsequent movement of said vertical scoring devices, to, return said reciprocable fluid p'ressuremeans to position foradvancing the next subsequent ice block. 1

ROBERT. f ROARKl' 

